NOTES FKOM YORKSHIRE. 177 



A rather curious incident occurred at Spurn on the 22nd. Three 

 Crows were observed disputing, on the wing, about a morsel 

 which one of them, more fortunate than the rest, had managed 

 to secure, when suddenly a Great Black-backed Gull appeared 

 upon the field, and put in a claim, much to the alarm of the 

 Crows, and resulting in the fortunate one relinquishing his 

 capture, which fell upon the sands, and was secured by my 

 informant before the Gull could pounce upon it. This bone of 

 contention proved to be a Storm Petrel, just dead and still quite 

 warm. I received this bird in the flesh on the day following, 

 and on dissection it proved to be a male in emaciated condition • 

 the lungs were considerably diseased, each containing a con- 

 solidated whitish mass, about the size of a small pea, showing 

 on section the bronchial tubes running through the centre 

 standing wide open. A question is here suggested as to the 

 nature of the diseases in the lungs of undomesticated animals ; 

 and whether this mass was of a cancerous nature, or the result 

 of acute phthisis ? Many Storm Petrels occurred far inland 

 during November, being blown off the sea and carried before the 

 easterly gales which prevailed. 



A fine adult male Bittern was shot in a stubble-field at Tun- 

 stall, near Withernsea, on December 15th. This bird weighed 

 thirty-nine ounces, and the contents of the gizzard, sent to me 

 for examination, consisted of a mass of coleopterous remains, 

 including an entire head and elytron of a Dytiscus margmalis, 

 and a stringy substance much resembling wet tow. 



On December 30th an adult male Tengmalm's Owl was shot 

 at Normanby, near Whitby, by some rabbit-shooters whose dog 

 put the bird out of a broom-covert. This specimen was kindly 

 sent to me for inspection by Mr. Wilson, of Whitby, in whose 

 collection it now is. The bird agreed with the description given 

 by Mr. Dresser, with the exception that there were five white 

 spots on the tail-feathers, whilst Mr. Dresser only mentions four. 

 This fifth spot, however, is not observable until the tail-coverts 

 are raised. I also noticed decided traces of a sixth spot at the 

 extreme end of each feather, but this was not very marked, owing 

 to abrasion. Of the five Yorkshire occurrences of this species* 

 three of them have been from the neighbourhood of Whitby : an 

 adult now in the collection of Mr. W. Lister, of Glaisdale, was 

 shot from a tree at Egton, on November 19th, 1872; whilst 



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